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http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specificationBlogEngine.NET 2.0.0.36en-UShttp://matsentertainment.com/opml.axdMy nameMat's Entertainment0.0000000.000000'Justice League' proves sometimes the sum of the parts is actually greater than the whole<p><img src="http://matsentertainment.com/image.axd?picture=2017%2f11%2fJustice+League.jpeg" /></p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #444444; font-size: 20px; line-height: 28px; font-family: Yrsa, serif;">As the DC superheroes desperately try to mimic the cinematic success of Marvel, their rollout of films has been like watching a Fiat try to race a Ferrari.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #444444; font-size: 20px; line-height: 28px; font-family: Yrsa, serif;">Probably the biggest mistake they&rsquo;ve made is having director Zack Snyder be the architect of the DC cinematic universe.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #444444; font-size: 20px; line-height: 28px; font-family: Yrsa, serif;">Snyder as a director certainly has a talent for visual spectacle, but the dude&rsquo;s about a subtle as a sledgehammer in a nitroglycerine plant and his first two DC films, &ldquo;Man of Steel&rdquo; and &ldquo;Batman v. Superman,&rdquo; proved that out by being as lumbering as they were clunky.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #444444; font-size: 20px; line-height: 28px; font-family: Yrsa, serif;">DC&rsquo;s only bright spot has been &ldquo;Wonder Woman,&rdquo; which proved away from Snyder these characters could have something fresh and interesting to say.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #444444; font-size: 20px; line-height: 28px; font-family: Yrsa, serif;">This all brings us to &ldquo;Justice League,&rdquo; DC&rsquo;s answer to "The Avengers" that brings a big bunch of heroes together and proves sometimes the sum of the parts is actually greater than the whole.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #444444; font-size: 20px; line-height: 28px; font-family: Yrsa, serif;">Snyder directed the lion&rsquo;s share of this movie, but had to step away before he was finished due to the tragic death of his daughter. Super-nerd auteur Joss Whedon stepped in to finish it up. It&rsquo;s tempting to give the credit for what works in &ldquo;Justice League&rdquo; to Whedon and what doesn&rsquo;t to Snyder, but since his name is on the final product, I&rsquo;ll credit Snyder with clearing the low bar of producing his best movie since &ldquo;300.&rdquo;</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #444444; font-size: 20px; line-height: 28px; font-family: Yrsa, serif;">Left is a world where Superman (Henry Cavill) is dead, Batman (Ben Affleck reprising his passable take on the Dark Knight) and Wonder Woman (Hero of 2017 Gal Gadot) look to assemble a team of formidable heroes when an alien threat looks to destroy the earth.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #444444; font-size: 20px; line-height: 28px; font-family: Yrsa, serif;">The trio they turn to are son of Atlantis Aquaman (Jason Momoa, who does the impossible of making Aquaman cool), super-fast smart aleck The Flash (Ezra Miller, who brings a healthy amount of comic relief to the table) and part man, part robot, all brooding Cyborg (newcomer Ray Fisher).</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #444444; font-size: 20px; line-height: 28px; font-family: Yrsa, serif;">Everyone works to overcome their differences to punch and destroy wave after wave of computer-generated creatures to save the day. Hooray.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #444444; font-size: 20px; line-height: 28px; font-family: Yrsa, serif;">There&rsquo;s certainly more of a sense of humor this time around with these characters and, while the end result is just a notch above so-so, there at least is a ray of hope for DC moving into the future.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #444444; font-size: 20px; line-height: 28px; font-family: Yrsa, serif;">Plus, with Aquaman, The Flash and Cyborg all slated to get their own standalone films, the characters are all played by interesting enough actors that, with the right script and director, there is nothing holding them back from replicating Wonder Woman&rsquo;s success.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #444444; font-size: 20px; line-height: 28px; font-family: Yrsa, serif;">Until then, while DC continues to play second fiddle cinematically to Marvel, &ldquo;Justice League&rdquo; at least moved them one step closer instead of the previous trend of two steps back.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #444444; font-size: 20px; line-height: 28px; font-family: Yrsa, serif;"><em>&ldquo;Justice League&rdquo; is rated PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi violence and action.</em></p>http://matsentertainment.com/post/2017/11/17/Justice-League-proves-sometimes-the-sum-of-the-parts-is-actually-greater-than-the-whole.aspx
http://matsentertainment.com/post/2017/11/17/Justice-League-proves-sometimes-the-sum-of-the-parts-is-actually-greater-than-the-whole.aspx#commenthttp://matsentertainment.com/post.aspx?id=7e428ba7-77b0-4bc2-bfa2-696bf8eddc0bFri, 17 Nov 2017 09:21:00 -0800headlinemoviesMat DeKinderhttp://matsentertainment.com/pingback.axdhttp://matsentertainment.com/post.aspx?id=7e428ba7-77b0-4bc2-bfa2-696bf8eddc0b0http://matsentertainment.com/trackback.axd?id=7e428ba7-77b0-4bc2-bfa2-696bf8eddc0bhttp://matsentertainment.com/post/2017/11/17/Justice-League-proves-sometimes-the-sum-of-the-parts-is-actually-greater-than-the-whole.aspx#commenthttp://matsentertainment.com/syndication.axd?post=7e428ba7-77b0-4bc2-bfa2-696bf8eddc0bMusic, charming cast make 'On Your Feet!' a winner<p><img src="http://matsentertainment.com/image.axd?picture=2017%2f11%2fOn+Your+Feet!.jpg" /></p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #444444; font-size: 20px; line-height: 28px; font-family: Yrsa, serif;">The story of Gloria Estefan and her rise to fame with the Miami Sound Machine is interesting, but not wildly compelling as musical biographies go.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #444444; font-size: 20px; line-height: 28px; font-family: Yrsa, serif;">Fortunately, the production &ldquo;On Your Feet! The Emilio &amp; Gloria Estefan Broadway Musical,&rdquo; playing now through Nov. 19, at the Fox Theatre, leans heavily on the music and charming cast to make this jukebox musical a winner.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #444444; font-size: 20px; line-height: 28px; font-family: Yrsa, serif;">Gloria (Christie Prades) grew up in Miami, the daughter of Cuban immigrants Jose (Jason Martinez) and Gloria Fajardo (Nancy Ticotin). Gloria was a bright student on track to earn a college degree, but her love of music and inherent talent did not go unnoticed.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #444444; font-size: 20px; line-height: 28px; font-family: Yrsa, serif;">She catches the eye of local musician and ambitious charmer Emilio Estefan (Maurico Martinez), who puts her out front of the group and the Miami Sound Machine begin to enjoy some modest success. In addition to becoming a professional pairing, Gloria and Emilio become a romantic item and wind up getting married.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #444444; font-size: 20px; line-height: 28px; font-family: Yrsa, serif;">The most compelling part of their story is their quest to &ldquo;cross over&rdquo; from the Spanish-language Latin music scene into conventional pop music and the resistance they received from the music industry.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #444444; font-size: 20px; line-height: 28px; font-family: Yrsa, serif;">Mixing Latin beats with English lyrics was pretty much unheard of in American music at the time. This also speaks to the greater importance of &ldquo;On Your Feet!&rdquo; in that Latin culture and music rarely find their way to the Broadway stage and when they do they are typically an appropriation by lily-white producers (see &ldquo;West Side Story&rdquo; and &ldquo;Evita&rdquo;).</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #444444; font-size: 20px; line-height: 28px; font-family: Yrsa, serif;">Of course, it doesn&rsquo;t hurt to have a parade of '80s hits like &ldquo;1-2-3,&rdquo; &ldquo;Conga,&rdquo; &ldquo;Rhythm Is Gonna Get You&rdquo; and &ldquo;Turn the Beat Around&rdquo; to fall back on. Interspersed with more traditional Latin music, the songs spark the show to life with vibrant lighting and hip-shaking choreography.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #444444; font-size: 20px; line-height: 28px; font-family: Yrsa, serif;">Backed by an onstage orchestra that features actual members of the Miami Sound Machine, &ldquo;On Your Feet!&rdquo; is a production that is wisely music first.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #444444; font-size: 20px; line-height: 28px; font-family: Yrsa, serif;">The cast is solid, with Maurico Martinez being a particular standout as he brings a lot of passion and charm to the role of Emilio.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #444444; font-size: 20px; line-height: 28px; font-family: Yrsa, serif;">The second act is a little uneven both in tone and song choice, but the crowd-pleasing finale that plays more like a concert than a musical brings &ldquo;On Your Feet!&rdquo; to a rousing conclusion.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #444444; font-size: 20px; line-height: 28px; font-family: Yrsa, serif;">Hopefully, &ldquo;On Your Feet!&rdquo; is a harbinger of more musical diversity coming to Broadway instead of being a one-off novelty.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #444444; font-size: 20px; line-height: 28px; font-family: Yrsa, serif;"><em>&ldquo;On Your Feet!&rdquo; is playing now through Nov. 19, at the Fox Theatre. For tickets call 314-534-1111 or go to&nbsp;<a style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; color: #551a8b;" href="http://metrotix.com/">metrotix.com</a>.</em></p>http://matsentertainment.com/post/2017/11/11/Music-charming-cast-make-On-Your-Feet!-a-winner.aspx
http://matsentertainment.com/post/2017/11/11/Music-charming-cast-make-On-Your-Feet!-a-winner.aspx#commenthttp://matsentertainment.com/post.aspx?id=bcc99c28-2fd2-403a-b5a2-e7efd0d65831Sat, 11 Nov 2017 10:59:00 -0800headlinetheater reviewsMat DeKinderhttp://matsentertainment.com/pingback.axdhttp://matsentertainment.com/post.aspx?id=bcc99c28-2fd2-403a-b5a2-e7efd0d658310http://matsentertainment.com/trackback.axd?id=bcc99c28-2fd2-403a-b5a2-e7efd0d65831http://matsentertainment.com/post/2017/11/11/Music-charming-cast-make-On-Your-Feet!-a-winner.aspx#commenthttp://matsentertainment.com/syndication.axd?post=bcc99c28-2fd2-403a-b5a2-e7efd0d65831